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MOVIE REVIEW
While not exactly a golden rule, it is known fact that if a movie does well in the box office, chances are good that it will be followed by sequel and more often than not, we’ve come to expect that the sequel won’t measure up to the original. Add a third movie to the mix and you’re just asking for trouble. With animated movies, the expectations are often even lower. (Is anyone really surprised that the Ice Age movies keep getting worse?) But sometimes, as is the case with the Disney/Pixar Toy Story movies, we’re pleasantly surprised. Now you can add How to Train Your Dragon to that short list too.

One thing that DreamWorks Animation has understood about this series is that the story comes first, the hijinks come later. The very first Dragon movie proved that way back in 2010 with a strong story and with each chapter that has come after it, that story just keeps getting better. What started out as a cute kid’s story has become a powerful trilogy. We've seen these chara…

This Day in Pop Culture for October 7

“I’m Spartacus” is First Uttered
Inspired by the true-life events of a leader of a slave revolt during the Third Servile War, Spartacus arrived in movie theaters on this day in 1960. It starred Kirk Douglas as Spartacus, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, John Gavin, Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis. The film was to be directed by Anthony Mann, but was removed after the first week of shooting. Douglas replaced him with Stanely Kubrick and became the only film that Kubrick directed where he did not have complete artistic control. The screenwriter for the film, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted at the time in Hollywood, so Douglas publicly announced that Trumbo was the screenwriter. John F. Kennedy, who the President-elect at the time, crossed the American Legion picket line to watch the film as a way of protesting the blacklisting. The movie won four Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ustinov), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. Spartacus became a huge hit for Universal Studios that wasn’t surpassed until 1970’s Airport.

(Wikimedia)

Michael W. Smith is Born
On this day in 1957, Michael Whitaker Smith was born in Kenova, West Virginia. The three-time Grammy Award winner has also won 40 Dove Awards to date. His biggest success, at least in the world’s eyes, was the release of the song “Place in this World” in 1991 which got as high as #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Although growing up in a model Christian home, Smith started moving toward alcohol and drugs after he graduated from high school, but attended Marshall University while he honed in on his songwriting. After playing in a few local bands, he was encouraged to move to Nashville. There he worked as a landscaper by day, played at the clubs at night. Drugs and stress got the best of him and in 1979 Smith suffered a breakdown which led to his re-commitment to Jesus Christ. The very next day he auditioned for a new Christian band, Higher Ground and the rest is history.

Popular Posts

MOVIES
It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since everything was awesome, at least in the world of Lego as seen in the original Lego Movie. Since then Lego-themed movies have been released, none of which have been as popular, lucrative or received as much praise from critics as the original.

Now the gang is back in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part but everything appears to be less awesome as Bricksburg has become Apocalypseburg and is getting worse when this world is threatened by Lego Duplo invaders from outer space. Still, just like is real life, Legos can always rebuild.

It takes a lot of physical and CGI Legos to create a movie. Here is a breakdown on how that looks:

2: The number of characters Chris Pratt, Stephanie Beatriz and Alison Brie play in the film. (Pratt plays Emmet and Rex Dangervest, Beatriz plays General Mayhem and Sweet Mayhem and Brie plays Unikitty and Ultrakitty)

3: The number of times Will Arnett has voiced the role of Batman in a Lego movie.

TVAmerica’s Got Talent: The Champions brought back 50 of the best acts from the different world versions of the show to compete one more time for the chance to win a really impressive (or tall) trophy, $25,000 cash and pretty incredible bragging rights. The two-hour presentation began with an hour full of filler of past acts, silly bits and interviews with the dozen remaining acts hoping to win.

Soon the 12 was whittled down to five including ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer, sand artist Kseniya Imonova, card magician Shin Lim, singer Cristina Ramos and comedian Preacher Lawson. And during the show’s last five minutes of the show the winner was revealed.